The present invention relates to video on demand systems generally and, more particularly, to a video on demand DVD system.
Conventional digital video disk (DVD) players are implemented as stand-alone systems. In a multi-user environment, such as a hotel (or apartment) complex, a separate DVD player would have to be implemented in each room.
Conventional video on demand (VOD) systems provide a centralized storage location that may present independent video and audio programming to a number of rooms. Such a conventional video on demand system is shown in FIG. 1. Since conventional video on demand systems use S-video cables between the decoders and the monitors, the distance between the remote locations and the decoders can be hundreds of feet. However, with a DVD player, extensive decoding is included within the DVD players that prohibits use in a video on demand system. Additionally, personal computers (PCs) may implement DVD drives, but suffer from the same limitations of stand-alone players. Specifically, an individual PC would have to be dedicated to each room in the multi-user environment.
Video on demand systems used for MPEG1 VCD or MPEG2 titles are typically implemented as personal computers with peripheral connect interface (PCI) add-on cards that support four or more video decoders. The decoders are implemented centrally at the PC level. Such centralized systems are used with hotel video on demand systems. A drive running a title and a decoder are dedicated to each hotel room. The uncompressed video from the dedicated video compact disc (VCD) is wired to the room with, for example, S-Video cable. A separate cable allowing a remote control to control user options (e.g., stop, fast forward, rewind, etc.) is used as a feedback back to the player in the central location.
DVD titles use Macrovision copyright security as a required component encoded on each DVD player. When VOD systems are upgraded to support DVD, for applications where Macrovision copyright security on uncompressed video is not adequate, the infrastructure needs to be upgraded to a support compressed video feed to a decoder that resides in the room, but before the television. Macrovision application license restrictions include limiting the length of cable. It would be desirable to implement a DVD video on demand system without the requirement (and associated cost) of implementing a DVD Player for each remote location.
The present invention concerns an apparatus comprising a drive server, a control server and one or more decoder devices. The drive server may be configured to present one or more compressed data streams in response to one or more first control signals. The control server may be configured to present one or more of the compressed data streams in response to (i) one or more request signals and (ii) the one or more compressed data streams. The decoder devices may be configured to present a decoded video signal and a decoded audio signal in response to (i) one or more second control signals and (ii) the one or more compressed data streams.
The objects, features and advantages of the present invention include providing a video on demand DVD system that may (i) be enabled to have navigation software local to host server, while a remote source decoder is in another room, (ii) be enabled to control a remote source decoder directly, (iii) implement navigation software on a host server and/or (iv) implement a number of shared DVD drivers at a centralized location.